Digital Splash: Jan.-Feb. issue now online

2/1/2013

The Jan.-Feb. 2013 issue of Splash is now available online and as a mobile app for your iPad and iPhone.

This issue of Splash offers tips on implementing a long term training plan and takes a look back at the 2012 Golden Goggle Awards. Here’s a look at some of the features you’ll find in this issue:

It Starts Now
Rio de Janeiro and the 2016 Olympics probably seem like a long way away considering the London Games just ended a few months ago. If the United States wants to enjoy the same success in the pool in four years that it experienced this summer – 31 medals, 16 of them gold – and past Olympic summers, the time to start thinking, planning and training begins now. But what about the younger swimmers – those who aren’t necessarily at the Olympic level but are just looking to improve and attain their goals, no matter what their goals may be? It’s just as important for them to implement a long-term training plan right now.

And the Goggles Go To…
Last November, in the heart of New York’s Times Square, the USA Swimming Foundation paid tribute to one of the most successful U.S. Olympic Teams of all time at its annual Golden Goggle Awards. Here’s a look back at that night, and a small tribute to each of the award winners.

Technique: Starting Now
As the final race concluded and the Olympic torch was extinguished this summer in London, swimmers and coaches across the world began planning for the next four years leading up to Rio. It takes more than four years of planning to become an Olympian, however. It all starts with great technique in the pool.

Strength and Conditioning
Even if you don't have your sights set on Olympic glory, you should still have some idea of what it's going to take to reach whatever level you aspire to. That's why it's important that swimmers of all ages make an effort to set up and follow a structured dryland program designed to ensure that their bodies are operating at peak efficiency. Doing so is one of the best ways to avoid falling victim to chronic injuries and frustrating training plateaus.

Mental Training: Getting M.A.D.
Daily decisions like attending practice, food choices, or even your effort, add up to create the competitor you will become. Looking ahead to the end of this season, to next season, or even to four years from now, you have to know where you want to be and what it’s going to take each day to get there.